Home is Wherever I'm with You
by irrie
Summary: Kataang; oneshot. Post-balcony scene. What happens when there is a chance for them to go seperate ways?


_I don't even know what this is...I'm so tired and I have to wake up in around 4 hours. -crosses fingers that at least some of this is readable-_

_Bryke owns all._

* * *

The city of Ba Sing Se slept as the night grew darker. Even the lower ring, where all of the city life happened, slumbered. It was peace, Aang decided. Peace allowed all these people to sleep so deeply. Their minds were free of troubles for the first time in one hundred years…they deserved a long rest. He was the Avatar, however. He couldn't let this newfound peace get his guard down. He knew there was nothing easy about recovery.

The airbender sat on the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon, Iroh's famous tea shop, meditating on the state of the world and what was to come. Permanent peace wasn't a reality quite yet. It had only been a few nights since he defeated Ozai. Villages were still under the tyrannical rule of the firebenders, homes still in ruins, families still separated…the to-do list was endless. Not to mention Katara.

Oh, spirits.

Katara: the one name that hit him right in the core. She was a part of him and he loved her with every fiber of his being. Earlier that night – sunset to be exact – she had kissed him on this very balcony. No words had been spoken, because no words were needed. Afterwards, they had shared a quiet tea time with Iroh, who congratulated them on their successes. Shortly after that, Katara has excused herself and gone to bed.

But Aang could not rest. He would not. He needed to think, otherwise he would be unprepared. He needed quiet…

"Aang?"

The boy turned around to face the source of the voice. He knew it was her, of course. She had said his name so many times, whether it had been to pull him from the avatar state or to simply get his attention, but he never got tired hearing it.

Katara walked to him and sat down, her hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her wearily. Even though she looked at him through half-opened eyes, she was still beautiful.

"What are you doing out here? You should be asleep," he stated, looking down nervously. He was always nervous around her: nervous he might say or do the wrong thing, as he had many times in the past.

She blinked sleepily at him. "So should you."

"I know," he agreed with a sigh, "I'm just thinking."

"Whatcha thinking about?"

At this his face fell. "How much I still have to do."

The waterbender seemed to know what he meant. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Both of them stared into the distance.

"What are we, Katara?" Aang asked quietly. He knew this question was completely off-topic, but his brain was completely clouded by her presence. As expected, her response was a confused stare. "I mean you and me. I like you…more than normal. Well, you know that…"

She interrupted him with a swift kiss to the lips, and his mind was lost forever. He loved her. There was nothing that would ever stop him from loving her. These were the facts. He could only hope that she loved him in return and this was her way of showing it. As she pulled away from him, he sat back against the wall of the shop, dazed. She was intoxicating.

"I like you too, Aang..." she murmured, looking him in the eye, "more than normal."

"I can't imagine living without you," Aang blurted out suddenly. His cheeks glowed red and he quickly looked away from her. Fatigue was getting to him and keeping him from thinking straight! What a horribly silly thing to say…

Katara giggled at his reaction, and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her arms around him. She whispered in his ear, "I can't imagine my life without you, either."

Aang was confused. Her statement was clearly different than his. What was she trying to say? His entire brain was buzzing, but he couldn't make out anything. His thoughts were jumbled and he couldn't concentrate. He could feel her soft skin envelop him in a steady embrace. Was she really touching him like this? Quite frankly, he felt like fainting.

"Do you miss the South Pole?" he mumbled. How was that the first thing his brain could let out?

She seemed taken aback by the question, but answered very quickly. "Yes, of course."

He sighed. His brain quieted. Somehow, this answered everything. He knew she was going to go back home sometime. Her brother had once asked her if she was really going to choose him over her own tribe. Back then, her answer had been to stay home. He knew this would be her answer again. And anyways, he didn't want to get between her and her family. He couldn't keep her, his forever girl, as he wished.

"You should go back there, then," he said.

"Aang! What do you mean?"

He looked up at her desperately. "I mean that I don't want to come between you and your family! I have for a long time, even though I told you once that I didn't want to do that."

"Aang, you are my family," she sighed. Gesturing to the door, she continued, "We are all a family."

"I…I'm really confused…" he admitted, letting his face rest in his hands.

"Don't be," she stated confidently, standing up. "I know what you're trying to say Aang. Of course I miss the South Pole; it was where I was raised and where my family lived. But I've grown up more in the short time I've been with you than I ever would have had I been in the South Pole. You've really become more than just the goofy kid in the iceberg. You're the Avatar…and I love you."

Oh. She just said those three little words. Any and all of Aang's propriety swiftly sailed off into oblivion. Almost subconsciously, he stood up and held her against the wall, one hand on her back and the other in her hair. And he kissed her. At first it was just a sweet rhythm of two lover's lips meeting, but soon an entirely new side of the bald boy emerged. He wanted to let her know how much she meant to him.

Slowly, they pulled away from each other wearing stupid, tired smiles.

"I'm not ever going to leave you," Katara whispered.

"What about your home?" Aang asked, looking up at her hopefully.

She glanced back at him, a smile growing on her face as she went to speak.

"Home is wherever I'm with you."


End file.
